Twice Buffalo had an opportunity to select Ryan Nassib in the first round of Thursday's NFL Draft, and twice they passed on that chance. Those two moments — once at pick No. 8 and again at No. 16 — were undoubtedly the lowest points of a deflating night for the former Syracuse quarterback, who did not hear his name called and is still undrafted.

Buffalo, which came into the draft with a top-10 pick and a huge need at the quarterback position, could have selected at Nassib at No. 8, where many mock drafts predicted he would come off the board. But the Bills traded back by swapping with St. Louis at No. 16, and the Rams selected Tavon Austin out of West Virginia.

Still, the stars seemed to be aligning for a Doug Marrone/Nassib reunion in Buffalo when the Bills were on the clock again almost an hour later. Not a single quarterback had been taken through the first 15 picks, meaning the team with a glaring need had its choice of anyone it desired.

Nassib, Geno Smith of West Virginia and Matt Barkley of Southern California were all available, and Marrone and his new staff were familiar with each of them. The Orange played West Virginia multiple times in Marrone's tenure at Syracuse, most recently in the 2012 Pinstripe Bowl in December. And Barkley led the Trojans two a pair of wins over Syracuse in the last two years.

But the Bills made a bit of a wildcard selection, opting for Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel instead. Manuel has tremendous size and raw talent at the quarterback position, but the pick left draft analysts everywhere — on live television and Twitter alike — shocked.

With two chances to draft his old quarterback — or Smith or Barkley — Marrone and Buffalo never bit.

Nassib-to-the-Bills rumors began buzzing almost as soon as Marrone was hired by Buffalo in early January. Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett, who was also hired by the Bills, molded Nassib from a two-star recruit out of high school into an accomplished passer that rewrote many of the entries in the Syracuse record book.

By the time draft day rolled around, and Nassib had won over the likes of Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock, it was not uncommon to see his name next to Buffalo's No. 8 pick in mock drafts. That's how strong the connection was thought to be, how impressive Nassib was on film.

But in the end it wasn't so, and it wasn't even that close. The Bills took a quarterback ranked outside the top three prospects at the position by most analysts, and Nassib was left to wait until Friday to find out his future employer.

Watching from home in Pennsylvania with a small group of family and friends, Nassib was likely stunned. He thought for weeks he was the top quarterback in the class, and he felt he was worthy of a first-round selection.

On Thursday, 28 teams felt differently.

Some reaction from Nassib's former teammates (and Marrone's former players):